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Council approves solid-waste lien transfers after questions about outreach and property-contact process
Summary
The council approved a consent-item transfer related to solid-waste liens after members asked staff about how the city contacts owners and how liens are resolved; staff said notices are written and liens travel with property sales.
City Council approved a consent‑agenda transfer Tuesday concerning solid-waste lien listings after a council member requested the item be pulled to ask how the city notifies property owners before placing liens.
Representative Limon asked city Environmental Services staff for a detailed explanation of the lien process and how the city attempts contact when a property is abandoned or the owner cannot be readily located. Nicholas Vatter of Environmental Services described the department’s process: written notices (including certified mail), administrative steps within the city code, and use of the county’s Centralized Property/Parcel data (EPCAD) to obtain owner information. Vatter said phone numbers are not provided to the city through EPCAD and that staff training restricts releasing private contact information.
Jose Flores from the city attorney’s office said the department follows city code section 9.04 and state statute requirements on written notification. He noted that if a property with a city lien is later sold, the lien is paid through the sale process. Council members also said staff documents each attempt to contact owners in the file (dates of notices, attempts and registered mail) and asked staff to improve any public-facing explanation of how owners can resolve liens.
Representative Canales moved to approve the item after discussion; the motion carried unanimously.
